I’ve been developing model gliders and yachts from aluminium cans. But, always on the lookout for something new to try, I decided to have a go at a model land yacht. It uses some off-cuts from the gliders and yachts, but it’s more of a mish-mash of construction materials.

The main frame is polystyrene foam between thin card facing. The wheels are too – hand cut with scissors, so they are vaguely circular.  I added rubber bands to give grip – without them the yachts skidded sideways.

Axles are from paper clips, bearings are from aluminium can. The front wheel has a thrust bearing – the axle runs against a flat piece of aluminium can at each end. The rear wheels have thrust bearings made from sliding a short length of tight-fitting plastic tube over the axle, arranged to bear against the aluminium bearing.

To finish it off I added masts from barbecue skewers, sails from A4 paper, and an outrigger made of a paper clip to hang weights on to reduce the chance of capsizing (although at the expense of more drag).

They keep rolling on about a 2.5% slope, and weigh about 8 grams each (without weights on the outriggers).

They work well.